It is defined as conveying the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation

It is derived from the Greek word “mimema” meaning something imitated

The study of memes is known as Memetics

It is intended to provide a definition for the way ideas and trends move through society as genetic traits move from generation to generation through genes

Genes are considered to move vertically from generation to generation, although with current genetic research it’s possible they may even move horizontally within a generation at some point in the future

Memes are considered to move either vertically or horizontally

Good examples of memes that move vertically are cultural trends like racism, speech patterns, pizza crust preferences and the type of BBQ sauce you consider to be the only true BBQ

Good examples of horizontal memes are fashion, slang, and the belief that Al Gore truly deserved a Nobel Peace Prize

A fad is considered to be a phenomenon that becomes popular for a very short time.

A fad technically fits the description of a horizontal meme since it is transmitted and imitated

The short time period indicates that it is a failed meme, a dead end on the cultural evolutionary tree

Thankfully!

Although Jams were awesome – why don’t we wear those anymore?

Calling your short lived internet fad a meme will make you feel more important

Mike is actually a wonderful person to follow if you use friendfeed, I just thought this was a little ironic. Friendfeed has many uses and like one of them is to promote your own work and you can bump it to the top of the feed and at the same time let people know you appreciate them sharing your work.